This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. After a Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster got towed in 2023, no one claimed it. The iconic sports car sat at a Torrance tow yard for five months, long enough that the towing company had the right to sell it....
‘Too Damn Hard to Build’: A Key California Democrat’s Push for Speedier Construction
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters A California legislator wants to solve the state's housing crisis, juice its economy, fight climate change and save the Democratic Party with one "excruciatingly non-sexy" idea. Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks sees the slow, occasionally redundant, often litigious...
California Beat Big Tobacco. Can It Now Make Big Oil Pay for Climate Damage?
Big Oil faces mounting lawsuits as extreme weather worsens, with California leading efforts to make fossil fuel giants pay billions of dollars for the climate damage they have long denied. Across the country, states, cities, tribes and environmental groups have filed dozens of lawsuits against oil companies alleging that they misled the...
This California Sheriff Says He’ll Break the State’s Sanctuary Law
The specific way in which the sheriff of a rural Northern California county says he’s going to break state law is by contacting immigration authorities after he arrests someone who is in the country illegally. It’s equally true to say that Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman believes he’s upholding federal law, specifically the...
Sen. Scott Wiener Exits X, Calls It a ‘Garbage Fire’
In the past few months, some Democratic state legislators have joined the reported exodus of users on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. These include Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor of Inglewood, Marc Berman of Palo Alto and Akilah Weber Pierson of San Diego. The most recent is Sen....
ACLU Sues Over Alleged Abuses in Kern County Immigration Raids
The American Civil Liberties Union says in a new federal lawsuit that Border Patrol agents in the Central Valley appeared to arrest people without reasonable suspicion, based on their appearance. Border Patrol agents slashed tires, yanked people out of trucks, threw people to the ground, and called farmworkers "Mexican bitches"...
Advice to CA Schools on Trump’s DEI Crackdown: Do Nothing for Now
California's K-12 schools are getting some clarity on how to handle the Trump administration's sweeping orders to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The answer is: Do nothing. Not yet, anyway. "Time to take a breath. Just because Trump ordered it, doesn't mean it's going to happen," Noelle Ellerson Ng,...
7 Takeaways From a Deep Dive Into California’s Homeless Shelters
All across California, temporary homeless shelters have become the foundation of taxpayer-funded efforts to get people off the street. Our new investigation found that shelters have instead become housing purgatory. They're often a mess — dangerous, chaotic and ultimately ineffective at finding people lasting housing. Shelters are usually off-limits to...
California Lawmakers Scramble Again to Fix ‘Lemon’ Vehicle Law
For more than half a century, California's "lemon" law was considered one of the best in the nation at giving consumers the legal right to demand car companies fix or replace defective vehicles still under warranty. Now, California lawmakers are scrambling to repair recent changes they made to the law...
Politicians Rise or Fall on Disaster Response. LA Fires Are Gavin Newsom’s Big Test.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has become a familiar sight around Los Angeles since the firestorm that swept through the region last month, leveling neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. In the first days of the disaster, he was spotted touring the wreckage. In the weeks after, he launched a recovery initiative...